Climate change is the signature global issue of our time. Adapting to Climate Change examines climate change from the local to the global. Although much of the public discussion of climate change in the United States, and around the world, focuses on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the imperative for communities to adapt to the real challenges presented by climate change is sometimes lost in that debate. That is, until events like Katrina or Sandy devastate a region and climate realities are hammered home in quick fashion. Adapting to Climate Change is one of the first systematic analyses of local and regional policy efforts on climate adaptation. Drawing on policy data collected from municipalities in Connecticut and extensive elite interview data across the northeastern policy community, Boyer ably shows how localities are grappling with this global problem. Stories of climate adaptation are accessible through the rich collected data, all the while underpinned with significant conceptual insights. By appealing to global scholars, town officials, and the environmental policy community, Adapting to Climate Change helps advance our understanding of what is working, what is not, and where communities might go in coping with climate change in the coming decades.

BIO:

Mark A. Boyer is a Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor of political science. He holds a B.A. in political science from Wittenberg University and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in from the University of Maryland. He co-directs the GlobalEd Project, which employs the ICONS simulation as an experimental international studies venue. He is past Editor of International Studies Review (2008-2012) and International Studies Perspectives (2000-2004).